Teacher accused of slapping 9-year-old girl

By Ana Ley :
April 5, 2013
: Updated: April 5, 2013 10:08pm

An elementary school teacher placed on leave after officials said he admitted slapping a 9-year-old girl in his third-grade class was behind bars Friday morning.

Karl Nicholas, 63, told Stewart Elementary School officials the girl had been unruly when he slapped her about 1:45 p.m. Monday, according to an arrest warrant affidavit issued by San Antonio Independent School District police.

Nicholas then called the main office to ask that the girl be removed from the class because she had assaulted him and was being disruptive, the affidavit says.

Nicholas refused to elaborate about the incident, simply saying he planned to resign because he knew he was going to jail, according to the affidavit.

Though he initially told the principal he would not talk about the incident or make a statement, he later admitted hitting the girl after the principal interviewed a dozen students, the affidavit says.

District spokeswoman Leslie Price said that although Nicholas told the principal he would resign, he did not actually do so.

He was placed on administrative leave Monday afternoon, and district police were notified. Their investigation began Tuesday morning.

“We worked very quickly to remove him from the class,” Price said. “From there, our Police Department moved forward to file charges.”

On Wednesday, the girl's mother called school district police to report the incident.

The girl told an officer she was sitting at her desk when another student “told her to shut up, so she told him to shut up,” the affidavit says.

Nicholas came to her desk and told her to leave the other student alone, and the girl told the teacher that the other student had started the squabble, according to the affidavit.

She then dropped a pencil on the floor, and as she reached down to pick it up, she said she accidentally hit Nicholas on the hand. She told police she apologized and said it was an accident, but the teacher didn't believe her.

Nicholas slapped her in the face hard and grabbed her by the arm, the girl told police. He then dragged her to the door to lock her out, but a counselor was in the hallway so he asked the counselor to take the child to her office, the affidavit says.

Nicholas was arrested Thursday and charged with knowingly causing injury to a child, a third-degree felony. He was in jail as of about 8:30 a.m. Friday, but was in the process of being released after posting $10,000 bail.